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WWDC Like death, taxes and other inevitabilities, it's time for Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference and the annual pre-event leak. This year, it's blurry photos of what's supposed to be the next OS X update, 10.10.

Of course, we'll only know for sure the pictures – apparently "taken at Apple in California" – are the real deal today, when the latest iteration of the desktop operating system is unleashed on fanbois in San Francisco and beyond. And that's not all, because it looks like iOS8 will also rain down upon the faithful.

Partially redacted pictures of OS X 10.10, which we're calling OS XXX but Apple is calling Yosemite, emerged on a Reddit thread, before quickly being deleted.

They appear to show a desktop operating system that looks a lot like Apple's mobile OS: iOS. Nonetheless, this tidbit was enough to spark a furious post mortem, with fanbois scouring the pictures like bottom-feeding crabs feasting on a whale carcass.

While many Apple aficionados derided the blurry images as fake, the MacRumours site claimed they were real. The bloggers even went to the trouble of deleting the pictures from their site "at the request of the original poster".

Nonetheless, someone in the blog comments posted the pics again, proving you're not missing much. Were these taken in a steamy shower?

(That's Thai for "expected to be at today's press conference, the Apple OS X 10.10 with iOS 8.")

So what changes can the fruity flock expect in the next version of OS X?

Well, based on the blurry snaps, they may see additions to the Notification Center, Spotlight and Dock, as well as a slightly tweaked Safari browser. Desktop and laptop systems look likely to get an iOS-style control centre, while there appear to be buttons to start up airplane mode and put the computer into "do not disturb" mode, which could lead to some interesting workplace situations.

The look of the Dock has been modified to look a bit like iOS, whilst the whole design looks a bit more Flat, which was the name for the beefed-up design of iOS 7, for those who remember.

Other bits and bobs expected at WWDC include the latest mobile OS and some sort of smart home technology. The vendor is also rumoured to be about to launch health-monitoring software for its mobile operating system, “Healthbook”. ®